You know when stuff happens in your life and you can't really explain it? London was one of those wonderful things in my life that I was so blessed to experience. Two months later, I still can't grasp that I really got to spend 3 months in Europe. So much has happened since I came home.....a lot of stuff that I can't wrap my mind around. But you know, when you don't know all the answers is when God draws us to Himself....and when we're most likely to realize our need to seek our Father, even when we don't want to. I found my Mississippi Baptist Speaker's Tournament speech from 2009 on my computer today, and I just wanted to share it.
One…two…three…” I begin to count. Excited squeals erupt across the playground as children scramble to find hiding places. As I near the end of the count, it grows quiet, each player desperate to remain hidden. “Ready or not, here I come!” I call. Where to look first? The search begins.
Have you ever found yourself searching intently for something, like a child playing a game of hide-and-seek? Scientist Thomas Edison experimented for two whole years before finally inventing the incandescent light bulb. Even in fairytales, princesses seek to find their “Prince Charming”s; and pirates search for buried treasure using the dotted lines on treasure maps crossing restless seas and faraway lands up to the “X-marks-the-spot” locating their elusive quarry. However, in order to even start down the road to whatever it is you’re trying to find, initiative, energy, and determination are needed to take that first step on the journey.
A good example of initiative is seen in Luke fifteen where Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep. A shepherd out in the fields noticed that one of his lambs was missing. Rather than waiting for the lamb to come wandering back of its own accord, the shepherd took it upon himself to search for this little lost sheep; and, after hunting for it relentlessly, he finally found it and brought it back to the rest of his flock.
Matthew chapter two describes this attitude of relentless searching when recounting the story of the wise men. My pastor stated that these “men from the East” traveled thousands of miles to see and worship a baby King “just because a star was shining above Him.” They found Him with Mary and Joseph and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Not only did they give Him earthly gifts, but they also gave Him their hearts, praising Him for the wonderful miracle He was—God in flesh. The wise men not only had the initiative to search for Him, but they also had the right heart to find Him—a heart tuned in to the King.
When the wise men were traveling through Jerusalem, they asked King Herod where to find the baby King. Herod, having heard of the promised Messiah that was to come to deliver the Hebrews, told the wise men that when they had found the Child, they should return to Jerusalem to let Herod know where Jesus was so that he, too, could worship Him. Herod’s true goal, however, was to kill Baby Jesus in order to retain his own power over the Hebrews. But because an angel warned the wise men in a dream of Herod’s true intention, the wise men did not travel back through Jerusalem; and although he murdered all of the baby boys in Judea, Herod never found the baby King. Herod had all the initiative needed to begin his search for Jesus, but he did not have the right mindset to ever find the Savior—a mindset of true surrender and devotion to the King. As God says in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
For what are you searching? Are you searching for recognition and power? Or maybe for a lost sheep in a friend or family member? Or have you been searching for the King of Kings with the wrong heart or in all the wrong places?
I know I did. I looked for Jesus in church rituals, in the youth group, in signing, in school, in music, in friendships. Time after time, I was disappointed and hurt when trying to put my heart in the world. It wasn’t until I searched for Jesus with a heart fully willing to worship Him with everything I had that I could see Him. This past summer, I finally searched for Him with all of my heart, and He completely surprised me! I found Jesus on July 9, 2008. He now holds my whole heart, and I seek to serve my King every day. I’ve discovered that He fulfills His promise in Matthew 6:33: that if you “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…all these things will be given to you as well.” We must search for Him first, not just with our minds, but also with our hearts; and then we will find everything we really need. F.B. Meyer presents his perspective on searching for God in prayer, saying, “We too seldom consider the pleasure that the prayer of His people gives to God…We hardly realize that He is looking for our coming because He loves us.” When you search for God, you find that He is already searching for you; and with this realization, you have found Him in perfect love. As a popular worship song says, “The more I seek You, the more I find You. And the more I find You, the more I love You.”
Searching for Jesus is a lifelong journey, a choice that Christians must make daily. We may make mistakes along the way, but we should not give up with defeat. As Thomas Edison said, “I didn’t fail. I found two thousand ways how not to make a light bulb.” Like Edison, we should not stop our work with small failures, but learn the lessons that these defeats teach us.
So…where to look first? Well, how about the Cross? That is where true salvation is found.
Tag, you’re it!
Sometimes I wonder why I struggle with issues in life. But you know, if it makes me turn around and face my Father instead of running away from Him, it's totally worth it in the long run. He's always with me, step by step, and He is the most faithful companion in my life. Recently I've re-learned what it means to be forgiven, to know I've messed up and come back asking for forgiveness. I know what it feels like to think I can never be forgiven. But He does forgive us, time and time again. We are His children; He will not leave us stranded. As long as we're calling out His Name (and even when we don't), He will answer. We will find Him. He promises this, and He is true to His promises.
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